Browne, Williams power Trento to come-from-behind win in Bursa

Gary Browne and JaCorey Williams each recorded double-doubles as Dolomiti Energia Trento rallied from a 12-point deficit to spoil Frutti Extra Bursaspor's 7DAYS EuroCup debut with an 86-93 victory on Tuesday in Bursa, Turkey. Williams posted 19 points and 11 rebounds and Browne tallied 17 points and 10 assists to fuel the winners. Browne did much of his damage late with 9 points over the final 2 minutes to seal the victory. Victor Sanders amassed 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Andrea Mezzanotte made 3 of 4 three-point shots for 11 points and Luke Maye scored 10 in his EuroCup debut. Daniel Hamilton shot 5 for 7 from downtown to pace the Bursaspor attack with 19 points and 8 rebounds, Malik Newman netted 17, Kenny Kadji scored 16 and Xavier Munford totaled 14 points and 7 assists.

Bursaspor got going early with 5 points from Kadji before Munford gave the hosts their first lead, 7-5. The teams continued to trade shots with Mezzanotte for Trento and Daniel Hamilton for Bursaspor each knocking down a three-pointer to make it 12-10 midway through the opening quarter. Another bucket by Kadji resulted in Trento calling the game's first timeout. Mezzanotte drilled his second three, however, Newman came off the bench for 5 quick points to extend the margin to 21-13. The electric sixth man converted a basket-plus-foul to settle the score at 29-19 after 10 minutes. Maye nailed a three and Sanders turned a steal into a slam as Trento halved its deficit in the first minute of the second quarter. Oguz Savas, with free throws and an assist, helped rebuild a comfortable Bursaspor lead. A floater by Sanders made it 35-28 midway through the quarter. Birkan Batuk came alive with a triple, a steal and a magnificent pass to Perry Jones to push the Bursaspor advantage to 12. Browne kept Trento in the picture, but after drawing an unsportsmanlike foul from Birtuk, the Trento playmaker missed the resulting free throws and a jumper. Williams stepped up with a three-point play and a no-look dish to Luca Conti to narrow the gap. Munford's layup in the closing seconds of the half made it 49-40 at the break.

Trento took charge at the start of the second half with a three by Mezzanotte and two more from Toto Forray in a 2-11 charge to tie the game at 51-51. Bursaspor used outside shooting to rebuild its lead with both Kadji and Hamilton knocking down triples. Kelvin martin countered with a three before Williams gave Trento its first lead since the opening minutes, 57-58. Maye padded the margin to 62-67. Batuk hit a much-needed three for the hosts to make it 65-67 through three quarters. Hamilton made his fourth three-pointer of the game to put briefly put Bursaspor on top early in the fourth quarter, but free throws by Sanders put Trento back in front. A pair of costly turnovers led to easy scores for Maye and Sanders as Trento surged to 70-75. Newman twice drew the hosts within 1, the second time at 78-79 with 3 minutes to play. Davide Pascolo's first basket of the night for Trento and a free throw by Browne after a technical foul on Bursaspor Coach Tutku Acik made it a two-possession game. That did not prove to be a problem as Hamilton came through with another three and Munford split free throws to tie the game at 82-82 with 1:11 remaining. However, an unsportsmanlike foul by Kadji on Browne allowed the Trento point guard to restore the visitors' lead before Sanders made it 82-87 with a dagger from outside. Browne banked in a jumper with 28 seconds remaining and then iced the game from the line.

The key numbers

Trento's transition game was excellent; despite only forcing Bursaspor into 10 turnovers, it registered 18 points from those possessions. In contrast, the hosts managed only 10 points from Trento's 11 turnovers. The Trento defense made some key adjustments in the second half and limited Bursaspor to 5-for-14 two-point shooting in the second half.

Browne's marvelous finish

The visitors trusted Gary Browne down the stretch and came up smelling like roses. After Bursaspor closed the gap to 76-77, Browne scored first and then assisted Davide Pascolo to keep Trento ahead. In addition to making 7 free throws over the final 2 minutes, it was Browne's banked in a jumper with 28 seconds remaining to make it 84-89 that all but wrapped up the win.

Bursaspor history

With Bursaspor making its EuroCup debut, nearly every notable action was a first for the club. Here are some of the noteworthy milestones: Kenny Kadji made the team's first EuroCup basket, followed it with the first three-pointer and later in the game blocked the first shot. Maxim Mutaf dished its premier assist and Xavier Munford made Bursaspor's first free throw.

What's next?

Trento will play its home opener against Promitheas Patras next Tuesday, October 6. Bursaspor will go on the road to face Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana the following evening.